The Roseburg Republican's resignation is not effective until March 15, which would allow him to serve out the remainder of the legislative session now underway.

His action came days after an investigator concluded he had sexually harassed or groped multiple women in the Oregon Capitol over several years and did not stop despite warnings. The investigator found that he escalated his harassing conduct after being told not to touch women at work.

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow

Oxfam’s deputy chief executive resigned Monday, saying she took “full responsibility” for failing to act immediately in the sexual misconduct scandal involving the charity’s workers in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

Penny Lawrence, Oxfam program director at the time, said she was “ashamed that this happened on my watch.”

At an emergency meeting Monday with British government officials, Oxfam’s leaders “also made a full and unqualified apology” and spoke of a “deep sense of disgrace and shame,” said British Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt.

Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring and trustee chairwoman Caroline Thomson were at the meeting. Mordaunt had threatened to pull public funding from Oxfam unless the charity revealed everything it knows about the Haiti allegations.

Still, it’s unclear whether the resignation and the apology will quell the scandal, which first emerged when the Times of London reported last week that seven former Oxfam staff members who worked in Haiti faced misconduct allegations that included using prostitutes and downloading pornography.

Oxfam says it investigated the allegations in 2011 and then fired four people and let three others resign after uncovering sexual misconduct, bullying, intimidation and failure to protect staff.

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow

"He Became A Celebrity For Putting Science Before God. Now Lawrence Krauss Faces Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct."

BuzzFeed News has learned that the incident with Hensley is one of many wide-ranging allegations of Krauss’s inappropriate behavior over the last decade — including groping women, ogling and making sexist jokes to undergrads, and telling an employee at Arizona State University, where he is a tenured professor, that he was going to buy her birth control so she didn’t inconvenience him with maternity leave. In response to complaints, two institutions — Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario — have quietly restricted him from their campuses. Our reporting is based on official university documents, emails, and interviews with more than 50 people.

Many of his accusers have requested anonymity, fearing professional or legal retaliation from Krauss, or online abuse from men in the movement who have smeared women for speaking out about other skeptics. A few allegations about Krauss made their way onto skeptic blogs, but were quickly taken down in fear of legal action. So for years, these stories have stayed inside whisper networks in skepticism and physics.

In lengthy emails to BuzzFeed News, Krauss denied all of the accusations against him, calling them “false and misleading defamatory allegations.” When asked why multiple women, over more than a decade, have separately accused him of misconduct, he said the answer was “obvious”: It’s because his provocative ideas have made him famous.

“It is common knowledge that celebrity attracts all forms of negative attention from many different angles,” Krauss said in a December email. “There is no pattern of discontent revealed here that suggests any other explanation.”

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow

"He Became A Celebrity For Putting Science Before God. Now Lawrence Krauss Faces Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct."

“It is common knowledge that celebrity attracts all forms of negative attention from many different angles,” Krauss said in a December email. “There is no pattern of discontent revealed here that suggests any other explanation.”

The studio co-founded by Harvey Weinstein has been crippled by the sexual harassment and assault allegations that have been leveled against him.

Now it appears that a deal to sell the studio's assets is falling apart.

The studio's board of directors said in a letter Sunday night that the would-be buyers were unwilling to provide interim financing to keep it afloat while the deal was finalized.
...
Weinstein was ousted from his role at The Weinstein Company last fall after numerous reports of sexual misconduct. He has been accused of sexual harassment or abuse by more than 60 women.
...
In the wake of the reports, many of the studio's business partners fled. New business opportunities dried up.
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The deal talks were complicated two weeks ago when New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Weinstein and his former company.

Schneiderman said that a four-month investigation into sexual harassment found "vicious and exploitative mistreatment of company employees." The suit cites what it calls "egregious" violations of state civil and human rights laws.

The state A.G. said he "will not stand in the way" of a sale if his concerns are addressed. He expressed three concerns: "Any deal must ensure first that victims will be adequately compensated;" that employees will be protected; and that executives who knew about Weinstein's alleged acts "will not be rewarded."

In the wake of the suit, the Weinstein Co. board forced out David Glasser, the company's COO, one of the executives who had been singled out by Schneiderman.

"On the 20th anniversary of the Starr investigation, which introduced her to the world, the author [Monica Lewinsky] reflects on the changing nature of trauma, the de-evolution of the media, and the extraordinary hope now provided by the #MeToo movement."

Now, at 44, I’m beginning (just beginning) to consider the implications of the power differentials that were so vast between a president and a But as I find myself reflecting on what happened, I’ve also come to understand how my trauma has been, in a way, a microcosm of a larger, national one. Both clinically and observationally, something fundamental changed in our society in 1998, and it is changing again as we enter the second year of the Trump presidency in a post-Cosby-Ailes-O’Reilly-Weinstein-Spacey-Whoever-Is-Next world. The Starr investigation and the subsequent impeachment trial of Bill Clinton amounted to a crisis that Americans arguably endured collectively—some of us, obviously, more than others. It was a shambolic morass of a scandal that dragged on for 13 months, and many politicians and citizens became collateral damage—along with the nation’s capacity for mercy, measure, and perspective.
...
White House intern. I’m beginning to entertain the notion that in such a circumstance the idea of consent might well be rendered moot. (Although power imbalances—and the ability to abuse them—do exist even when the sex has been consensual.)

But it’s also complicated. Very, very complicated. The dictionary definition of “consent”? “To give permission for something to happen.” And yet what did the “something” mean in this instance, given the power dynamics, his position, and my age? Was the “something” just about crossing a line of sexual (and later emotional) intimacy? (An intimacy I wanted—with a 22-year-old’s limited understanding of the consequences.) He was my boss. He was the most powerful man on the planet. He was 27 years my senior, with enough life experience to know better. He was, at the time, at the pinnacle of his career, while I was in my first job out of college. (Note to the trolls, both Democratic and Republican: none of the above excuses me for my responsibility for what happened. I meet Regret every day.)

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow

"On the 20th anniversary of the Starr investigation, which introduced her to the world, the author [Monica Lewinsky] reflects on the changing nature of trauma, the de-evolution of the media, and the extraordinary hope now provided by the #MeToo movement."

Now, at 44, I’m beginning (just beginning) to consider the implications of the power differentials that were so vast between a president and a But

Missing text:

[I’m beginning (just beginning) to consider the implications of the power differentials that were so vast between a president and a] White House intern. I’m beginning to entertain the notion that in such a circumstance the idea of consent might well be rendered moot. (Although power imbalances—and the ability to abuse them—do exist even when the sex has been consensual.)

" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General"No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. MertonMYT

[I’m beginning (just beginning) to consider the implications of the power differentials that were so vast between a president and a] White House intern. I’m beginning to entertain the notion that in such a circumstance the idea of consent might well be rendered moot. (Although power imbalances—and the ability to abuse them—do exist even when the sex has been consensual.)

On Wednesday morning, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a fundraising plea to the email list of the New York State Democratic Committee. The subject line: “NY Stands with #MeToo.”

In the message, Cuomo praises “women across the country” for “courageously speak out about facing sexual assault and harassment” while Donald Trump and the GOP are throwing their support behind the likes of alleged child molester Roy Moore and alleged domestic abuser Rob Porter.

“If that makes you angry, that’s good,” Cuomo writes, before his ask for donations. “But don’t just get angry, get involved and get even.”

Cuomo is an unlikely choice to headline the New York Democrats’ response to #MeToo. The governor, who today accused possible primary challenger Cynthia Nixon of being a plant from either New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio or Vladimir Putin, has drawn criticism for hiring Sam Hoyt as a senior aide in 2011—three years after Hoyt copped to having an extramarital affair with his 19-year-old intern.
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Cuomo’s undeserved trust in Hoyt put him in a position of power, from which Hoyt was able to allegedly sexually manipulate and assault a fellow government employee. That’s bad enough—but Cuomo’s response to the whole debacle was even worse. In December, at the height of conversations about sexual misconduct in the media, journalist Karen DeWitt asked Cuomo if he would do anything, in light of Hoyt, to root out sexual harassment in the state government. Cuomo, in a manner reminiscent of President Trump, tried to deflect the question by asking DeWitt what she was going to do to stop harassment in her own industry. “It’s about you. And journalism. And it’s about you and journalism. And it’s about state government. And it’s about carpentry. And it’s about trade forces,” Cuomo said. “We’ll have policies in state government, obviously, that affects state government, but I think you miss the point. When you say it’s state government, you do a disservice to women, with all due respect, even though you’re a woman. It’s not government, it’s society.”

“I understand. But can you just name one thing?” DeWitt asked, returning to her initial question. “No,” Cuomo said.

Huh! It’s kind of rich to see the name of the man who couldn’t think of a single thing he’d do to combat harassment in the “From” field of today’s fundraising email, which announced “a new campaign to capture the momentum of the #MeToo movement and turn it into action.” Ostensibly, that “action” is legislative change. But from the outside, it looks like it just means money. Cuomo and the New York Democrats noticed unprecedented numbers of women speaking up about sexual abusers in their workplaces and everyday lives, and they saw a marketing opportunity.

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow

Former NBC News war correspondent Linda Vester alleges Brokaw made unwanted sexual advances toward her, including arriving at her hotel room uninvited and trying to kiss her in 1994. A year prior, Vester said Brokaw groped her in a conference room when he walked in and grabbed her from behind and tickled her waist.

“Nobody acted like anything wrong was happening, but I was humiliated,” she said in an interview with Variety.

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow

More than two dozen additional women have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against former CBS News anchor Charlie Rose, and the Washington Post says that on least three occasions, managers were alerted about his questionable behavior.

Rose was fired as “CBS This Morning” anchor and his PBS interview show cancelled after the Post reported in November about women who said Rose groped them, made lewd remarks or walked around naked in their presence. In a story published Thursday, the Post said it had found 27 more women who said Rose harassed them.

CBS News’ top managers have said they were unaware of Rose’s behavior until last November, and are working to create a safe environment.

"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow

Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, has long been a liberal Democratic champion of women’s rights, and recently he has become an outspoken figure in the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. As New York State’s highest-ranking law-enforcement officer, Schneiderman, who is sixty-three, has used his authority to take legal action against the disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, and to demand greater compensation for the victims of Weinstein’s alleged sexual crimes. Last month, when the Times and this magazine were awarded a joint Pulitzer Prize for coverage of sexual harassment, Schneiderman issued a congratulatory tweet, praising “the brave women and men who spoke up about the sexual harassment they had endured at the hands of powerful men.” Without these women, he noted, “there would not be the critical national reckoning under way.”

Now Schneiderman is facing a reckoning of his own. As his prominence as a voice against sexual misconduct has risen, so, too, has the distress of four women with whom he has had romantic relationships or encounters. They accuse Schneiderman of having subjected them to nonconsensual physical violence. All have been reluctant to speak out, fearing reprisal. But two of the women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, have talked to The New Yorker on the record, because they feel that doing so could protect other women.

Obviously this story is still developing. But people are noting that Schneiderman is facing re-election this Fall, with a primary in September. He was probably expecting it to be easy.

The filing deadline for the primary is July 12. People (my friends, anyway) are already talking about a movement to draft Zephyr Teachout.

The filing deadline for the primary is July 12. People (my friends, anyway) are already talking about a movement to draft Zephyr Teachout.

One wonders if Preet Bharara would be interested in the job...

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

Michigan State will pay $500 million to victims of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse in what is believed to be the largest settlement ever in a sexual misconduct case involving a university.

Attorneys representing 332 claimants reached an agreement with representatives from Michigan State during a mediation meeting Tuesday afternoon. The university's board of trustees agreed to the deal in principle. The settlement did not include provisions about policy or acknowledge the claims made against Michigan State.

Michigan State's agreement stipulates that $425 million will be distributed to claimants who are currently part of the lawsuits. An allocator will determine how much each person will receive. The remaining $75 million will be held in reserve for two years in the event that others come forward and make claims about Nassar's abuse.The settlement did not require any of the claimants to sign non-disclosure agreements.
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Also named as defendants in the lawsuits are USA Gymnastics; the U.S. Olympic Committee; Twistars, a local gym where Nassar saw patients on a weekly basis; and specific individuals at some of those institutions. Those parties have not yet reached a settlement agreement.

For example, certain claims against the institution or its officers may be covered by the Director’s and Officer’s (D&O) liability insurance policy. Further, claims for liability for injury or damage may be covered by general liability insurance policies, and claims related to professional negligence may be covered by professional liability insurance policies.

D&O policies often cover the cost of defending the directors and officers against lawsuits pending against them, and may cover the institution itself, as well. The broad coverage grant under D&O policies often represents an advantage for policyholders, as such policies generally provide coverage for “any wrongful acts.” However, beware of overly broad assertions of coverage defenses that insurance companies often express in the event of a claim. For instance, insurance companies routinely assert the “bad acts” exclusions, refusing to advance defense costs as the policy requires. In most policies, however, such exclusions are only enforceable after a “final adjudication” of wrongdoing—that is, a final non-appealable court judgment that the excluded conduct occurred and activates the exclusion. Settlements in which the defendant “neither admits nor denies” wrongdoing do not qualify as “final adjudication” in most policies. Further even if the exclusion is activated, there may be coverage for non-excluded claims.

From a quick scan of the content, it seems like all of the allegations are fairly recent (i.e. the last 10 years or so). While that obviously excuses nothing, it does make me wonder if age is a factor. And would that mean we could still appreciate the early work without it being tainted?

Cosby crapped all over my childhood and ruined my ability to appreciate any of his work. I'm not sure I can handle another fall like that. (Though from the scan of the article, this is clearly not even remotely the same category of severity.)

From a quick scan of the content, it seems like all of the allegations are fairly recent (i.e. the last 10 years or so). While that obviously excuses nothing, it does make me wonder if age is a factor. And would that mean we could still appreciate the early work without it being tainted?

Morgan's reply:

Sexually harassed? Well, now, let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what means. I know what you internet forum people think it means. To me, it's just a made up word, a feminist's word, so that SJWs like yourself can post stuff while at your job.

What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?

There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not that I never successfully lifted that skirt, or because you think I shouldn't have tried. I look back on the way i was then, an old, stupid pervert who committed that terrible crime. I wanna talk to him. I wanna try to talk some sense to him - tell him the way things are. But I can't. That old man's long gone and this older man is all that's left. I gotta live with that.

Sexually harassed? It's just bullshit words. So you go on there and make your posts sonny and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.

I came home once to find my 79 year old dad hiding behind his bedroom door one day. I think he didn't know who was coming into the house and he was afraid. In his last years, my dad would also sit down on a bench, and if a woman came along he'd blurt out what he though she weighed. Obviously not a good idea. He lost some of his inhibitions. I never took him to the airport for fear of what security would do to him if he said the wrong thing. Alzheimer's alters your brain. I'd bet there's something going on with Morgan Freeman's brain.

I'm writing to respond to the accusations made by Scott R. Brunton. I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them.

The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur, and I do not know why he has claimed them now. I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do. But I do take these claims very seriously, and I wanted to provide my response thoughtfully and not out of the moment.

Right now it is a he said / he said situation, over alleged events nearly 40 years ago. But those that know me understand that non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful.

Brad, who is 100 percent beside me on this, as my life partner of more than 30 years and now my husband, stands fully by my side. I cannot tell you how vital it has been to have his unwavering support and love in these difficult times.

Thanks to many of you for all the kind words and trust. It means so much to us.

Tinsley, 54, was accused of sexual misconduct by James Frost-Winn, a Seattle-based trumpet player who worked for Tinsley as a member of the band Crystal Garden from about 2015 through 2016, according to a report from online entertainment magazine Consequence of Sound Thursday.

Frost-Winn, 28, told the magazine that he met Tinsley in 2007 when he was a homeless teenager and became friends over a mutual love of music.

Forst-Winn is now seeking $9 million in damages against Tinsley, claiming he created a “hostile work environment” withinin the band by making unwanted advancements and sending explicit texts, according to court documents, which were filed in Washington state.

DMB denied previously knowing about the allegations in an emailed statement to USA TODAY Friday from Matthew Traub, a spokesman for the band.

“Though Boyd is no longer a member of the band, we are shocked by these disturbing allegations and we were not previously aware of them," the statement read.

Their decision makes permanent the sabbatical Tinsley took in February, expressing a desire to concentrate on his family (he and his wife Emily have two children) and health.

Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein has been released on $1 million dollar bail, following his arraignment Friday.

He was charged in Manhattan court with rape, criminal sex act and other sex charges stemming from encounters with two women.

Accused by more than 80 women, Weinstein surrendered to the New York Police Department and Manhattan District Attorney's office Friday morning.

At the arraignment, Weinstein agreed to wear an electronic monitoring device, paid for at his own expense.

Weinstein was instructed he could only travel in New York state and Connecticut. Should he desire to go to another state, he has to seek permission. Weinstein has received a grand jury notice and by May 30 will opt to testify or not.

The victim has received an order of protection and will be identified to the court, prosecution and defense but will otherwise remain anonymous.

From the article, that's the smallest part of it. The majority is 'George Takei's Accuser talks to a reporter that doesn't reinterpret his statements in such a way as to create a better news story.' It really sounds like much of the hubbub came from the media, not the 'accuser.'

From the article, that's the smallest part of it. The majority is 'George Takei's Accuser talks to a reporter that doesn't reinterpret his statements in such a way as to create a better news story.' It really sounds like much of the hubbub came from the media, not the 'accuser.'

"Man wants George Takei to apologize for Attempting to Cross the 'Friend Zone' 34 Years Ago" isn't exactly attention grabbing.

" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General"No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. MertonMYT

Chloe Dykstra details an abusive relationship and if you read between the lines, it sure sounds like she's describing her time with Chris Hardwick.

I was quickly pressured to take an on-camera job at his company I didn’t want (I do not like to work for my significant others), because he insinuated I would be ungrateful to not accept it. Scared to upset him, I accepted the job, but I refused payment for my work, feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing (though the lovely folks at his company eventually forced me to take a check). By this time, like I said, I was terrified to piss him off- so I did what he said.

…Including let him sexually assault me. Regularly. I was expected to be ready for him when he came home from work.

If this is true - and I have no reason to think it's not - it's going to be tough to take. I've listened 300 of his podcasts. After someone talks in your ear for 300 hours, you kind of get a one way bond. It will be interesting to see his response. (And there's no doubt that it's Chris - it's kind of weird she didn't name him given all the other details she used.)

If this is true - and I have no reason to think it's not - it's going to be tough to take. I've listened 300 of his podcasts. After someone talks in your ear for 300 hours, you kind of get a one way bond. It will be interesting to see his response. (And there's no doubt that it's Chris - it's kind of weird she didn't name him given all the other details she used.)

Pretty horrible, the first part is a bad relationship in which both parties agreed to enter and stay (yes it was shitty relationship, but one that she was in voluntarily) , but once she left him and him chasing and losing her jobs and black listing her, that's when you know he is total psycho.

I think the fact that anyone out there thinks Chris Hardwick is a powerful enough doofus to let him treat them this way is head scratching.

You're thinking about this as a fully functioning adult without any mental health issues (presumably). In some cases, when you put people together that have toxic elements to their personality and/or mental health problems (or they gravitate towards one another and enter into a relationship), there's a potential for some type of cancerous synergistic elements to emerge. That's my take on what's been presented. It's not a complete hit piece on Hardwick as much as it's acknowledgment on her part as to the role she played in the relationship. To be clear, that doesn't excuse his (alleged) behavior in any way, it just frames the scenario and helps to explain how it lasted more than 5 minutes.